GALVA, Kan. — Old Empire Days celebrates Galva heritage annually, and this year, the festivities will run Aug. 25 through Aug. 26.
Galva originally started out as the town of Empire along the Santa Fe Trail in 1872 and when the railroad missed the town of Empire in 1879, the people and businesses moved northwest to the railroad camp and named the new town Galva because many settlers came from Galva, Ill.
The Old Empire Days will begin with a worship service at Park Henry on Friday at 7 p.m., with Travis Smith McKee of the Canton Christian Church followed by a potluck dessert.
A big event happening on Saturday will be the Buffalo presentation at 3 p.m. at the Galva Fire Station. Jay Clark, a buffalo soldier reenactor from Wichita will be sharing about the buffalo soldiers’ impact on the protection of the US Army along the Santa Fe Trail after 1865.
For more information or for the latest updates on Old Empire Days, go to the Galva, KS Old Empire Days Facebook Page.
The newspaper, the Santa Fe Way, shared the following schedule of events for the upcoming Galva heritage celebration:
Saturday Food/Drink
8 a.m. – 10 a.m. Biscuits and Gravy Galva Senior Center
11 a.m. – 4 p.m. Homemade Ice Cream 100 W. Second
11 a.m. – 11 p.m. Concessions Galva Community Room
5 p.m. -7 p.m. Main Street Barbeque North of Galva Fire Station
After Barbeque Dessert Bar Senior Center
Main Street Barbeque Details
- The BBQ provided by Brandon Koehn will be brisket, pork and brats, with meat donated by Canton Lockers.
- If you get a meal, it includes a sandwich, pickle spear, baked beans, chips and drink for $5.
- A hot dog meal is $4. A la carte prices are, sandwich for $3; hot dog for $2; beans or chips for 50 cents; and water or tea for 50 cents.
Fundraiser Raffle Details
- Tickets are $1 each or six tickets for $5. The raffle will start at 8 p.m.
- You could win items in four different categories: Children, ladies, mens and specialty/homemade items.
*All proceeds from the Main Street Barbeque and the Fundraiser Raffle go towards Galva Museum events and projects.
Saturday Live Music
Main Street Lineup:
2-4 p.m. Michelle and Sammy King
4-5:30 p.m. Smoky Valley Blue Grass Band
6-7 p.m. Inside Out Jazz Band
Evening Entertainment
(After Fireworks)
Triple Play – 100 West Second
Saturday Festivities
9 a.m. – 2 p.m. Car Show Phillips Motor Sports
10 a.m. Buffalo Soldier Encampment Across from 100 W. Second
11 am. – 5 p.m. Backstreet Letterpress + Design open house 120 S. Main Suite A
3 p.m. Buffalo Solder Presentation Galva Fire Station
4-7 p.m. CGHS Cheer Dunk Tank Main St
** Car Bash – Main St.
7:30 p.m. Tae Kwon Do – Main St.
8 p.m. Raffle Drawing – Main St.
9:30 p.m. Fireworks – Ball Diamonds
Saturday Kid Activities
11 a.m. – 2 p.m. Inflatables 100 W. Second
12-5 p.m. Creative Hands by Tammy 100 W. Second
12:45 p.m. Kid’s Parade Fire Station
1-4 p.m. Face Painting 100 W. Second
1-5 p.m. Carnival Games 100 W. Second
1 p.m. Kid’s Pedal Pull (Registration 1 p.m. Pull starts at 1:45 p.m.)
2-5 p.m. Kasey the Clown 100 W. Second
3-4 p.m. Candy Hunt (ages 3-8) 100 W. Second
3-5 p.m. Tae Kwon Do Demo 100 W. Second
3-5 p.m. Eric Vaughn Magic 100 W. Second
3-5 p.m. I-Dent-A-Kid City Hall
3-6 p.m. New Inflatables 100 W. Second
3 p.m. Great Treasure Hunt Main Street
3 p.m. Tricycle Obstacle Course Main Street
4-6 p.m. Bubble gum, cookie stacking, jelly bean counting contests Main Street
4-6 p.m. Vintage Fire Truck Rides Galva Fire Station
6:30 p.m. Future Fireman Contest (Grades 4-6) Galva Fire Station
*Free will donations offered at the biscuits and gravy breakfast and during the car bash will go to assist four local community members with mounting medical bills.